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Monday, 29 August 2016

It's not just Yorkshire that has a growing stoner/sludge/doom scene, as there's just as much rumbling coming from the other side of the Pennines in Lancashire and Cheshire. 1968 are the latest homegrown riff-lords to rise from the undergrowth and their self-titled EP was released in January, with the help of Black Bow Records and Conan's Chris Fielding. They're off on a two-date jaunt with PIST and BongCauldron next weekend, taking in London and Manchester. Anyway, I better get this review written before I fall asleep.

1968 approach things from a Kyuss/hard-rock angle and their groovy riffs do nothing to change that during EP opener Marauder. Jimi Ray Lazarus (if that is his real name) has a great set of pipes on him, while the rest of the band; Sam Orr (guitar), Bear (bass) and Tom Drury (drums) provide a great backdrop of psychedelic hard-rock. They’re following in the trails of some of the UK’s latest crop of trad/heavy metal worshipping bands and they’ve found a great support stable in Black Bow Records. Green Sails is full of urgency and grit. The drumming at the start of HMS Conan wouldn’t be out of place on a snotty punk record, but like the band the song is named after (or the warship), it’s not one of those blink-and-you’ll-miss-it numbers. It’s got all of 1968’s swagger and verve yet a heaviness that reminds you that there’s still something dangerous nestling within their music. This is an EP for music lovers and fans of good old hip-shaking rock.

Wednesday, 24 August 2016

Iron Witch has been featured a few times here in the past and they're one of reasons I do this. I first got into them via long-gone local label Thirty Days Of Night Records and their "Post Vegas Blues" 7". Since then I've had the pleasure of seeing them live on more than a few occasions, getting lost in their Eyehategod-worshipping riffs. They now return with a newish line-up and their first full-length records. From the evidence exhibited during their recent set at the Ritual Fest all-dayer in Leeds, they're not gonna be taking any prisoners. "A Harrowed Dawn" was recently released via Secret Law Records on cd, vinyl and digitally following the unceremonious leaking of the record earlier in the year.

A Harrowed Dawn starts with the sound of brooding guitar before it gets swallowed up by Iron Witch’s heavy doom on Beauty And Rot. Bass-ridden feedback and crashing cymbals add mighty heft while the vocals are made up of deep gut-wrenching roars. I remember witnessing this live and it’s every bit as devastating on record. You can definitely here the Siege Mentality influence seeping through too, as both bands share members. The lack of a pause between the opener and Salvation Through Nothing is perfect and while the latter is quite minimalistic to begin with, it doesn’t stay that way for long. A sound steeped in the Mersey’s early morning mist and the late-night whisky haze greets you when they hit full flow. The atmosphere during Machinery Of Violence is alarmingly calming (I’m not sure what that says about me!). It’s metallic riffs and psych-laden melody really hits the spot. The groove later on is sure to get you involuntarily head-banging, even if you’re in your house and on your own! As A Harrowed Dawn goes on, it’s songs get longer and obviously slower. Under The Pyre certainly starts off that way yet more groove shakes things up. Again, I recall the live rendition of this (in my booze-addled state) being great fun and hurting my neck because I couldn’t help but get sucked into it’s vibe. I once saw a movie where two guys put a rat on a blokes stomach, then put a bucket on top of it only for it to burrow inside (because that’s apparently what they do when they’re scared). Belly Full Of Rats is the aural equivalent of that movie scene and may well be inspired by it. Needless to say it’s the heaviest song on the record, so you know what you’re getting into. LP closer Solitude And Decay (another one from their Ritual set) is both catchy and endearing for those who settle in for it’s near thirteen-minute playing time. It’s almost drone-like in places and is beautifully chaotic in others. As it goes on you’ll find yourself paying more attention to it and it’s trance-inducing nature. Iron Witch’s period of silence and indeed the changes that the band has endured seem to have done it the power of good. On record, everyone sounds together and the music itself is performed in such a way that it breathes new life into the band. A stunning first LP and hopefully there will be more to come.

You can grab cd/LP copies from Secret Law Records here - https://secret-law-records.myshopify.com or from Iron Witch directly (along with other merch) at shows. It's also streaming digitally at all of the usual outlets. You can see the full list via their Facebook page below:-

Monday, 22 August 2016

Bridging the gap between indie/alternative rock and heavier music has always been something that UK bands are very good at, just look at recent breakthrough act Mallory Knox and more recently Faces of Eve (who are still very much carving their niche). Farnborough's Delayed Departure is the next name aiming to do just that. "Consequences" is their latest EP, coming just over eighteen months after debut "Crafted". They've certainly got the right attitude with their own merch and a live profile that's building with every gig. This EP was released in January and I'm still catching up.

Consequences starts with Opus, which tugs on all the right strings (no pun intended). It’s full of melodic guitar, clean singing that’s backed up by gang-like chants, It’s quite a rousing entrance for the band and use that momentum well on Ocean. Catchy songs are the bedrock of modern alternative rock and Delayed Departure seem to know what they’re doing in that department. There’s a big nod towards You Me At Six during Let’s Catch Fire and they manage to keep up the intensity with driving instrumentation that borrows from elements of post-hardcore. They temper things a little during Captive, with it’s slower pace and balladry. It does threaten to overspill at times, but Delayed Departure refrains. After the calming nature of the previous song, Synopsis grabs you by the throat. It’s their heaviest and most raucous song on Consequences and it features clever hooks and intelligent song-writing. They let things come to a close in noisy fashion with Choices. Delayed Departure seems to be closing in on their sound and their live experience has helped them to craft an EP that will surely push them to greater heights and new listeners. They can only get stronger.

It's grinding 7" fury time! Okay so I'm struggling a little this morning after with the dreaded "bangover". In an attempt to wake myself up and feel alive enough to play football later on, I'm sticking this beaut on. Released earlier this year by EveryDayHate in collaboration with Tu Pa Tu Tu Pa Records and L'inphantile Collective (as well as on tape via Grindfather Productions), this split brings together Spain's Teething and Finland's Feastem for a quickfire round of punk-fuelled aural violence.

There’s no point in running and hiding when you press play in this beast, as it’ll find you and batter you wherever you are. Teething open up with Dear Marta that lurches and writhes to the sound of down-tuned guitars, manic drumming and angry hardcore-driven vocals. You Live A Life You Don’t Like is a sub-one minute hit of pure intensity that’s over before you know it. Shittiest Generation really does gather the pain that we feel in the modern world, moulding it into metallic, grinding hardcore. Feastem are a lot rawer as New Ethics kicks off. The music they perform is no less chaotic though. Raging walls of guitar-led noise battle it out with furious percussive blasts and piercing screams. They hit full flow during Parasite Zero, which features some really menacing riffs and a hint of metal too. They close out the split in exquisite fashion on Stitches (exquisite by grindcore standards anyway!) The wall of noise seems to ratchet of the volume and anger levels to maximum. The result of this split is painful neck ache and a worldview that will never be the same again. My only gripe is that it’s too short.

I am looking to the future of this blog and thinking about ideas that will help it to grow, both in terms of content and readership. I've created a very short two-question survey that I would like you to answer. Thanks for your time and I really appreciate your help with this.

Belgium is one of my favourite countries. Obviously the beer is good but also the people are friendly, more laid back than some of their European cousins and the country has a habit of producing some decent bands as well. Mont-Dore are a new band to me and it's thanks to Black Basset Records that I get the chance to hear them. They've been a band since 2012 and have been crafting their own take on post-hardcore/screamo ever since. They released their debut EP "Escalades" in August 2013 and then "Fractures" in April of this year. They've recently returned from a triumphant weekend playing Fluff Fest and Faetzig Camp, where they were able to spread their message of friendship and tolerance. You can't get better ambassadors for Belgium than that!

Fractures begins with the most beautiful melodic guitar build-up on opener Before We Go. Mont-Dore allows their post-hardcore to take hold later on in the song with the help of drums and clean/screamed chant-like vocals. Their screamo influence hits full stride during Don’t Go Wasting Your Devotion, which highlights a raw and sometime frail side to the band. That rawness shows that they’re a band that plays from their heart. The blasts later on in the song almost hit emoviolence levels. There’s no pausing between songs as Let’s Not Slam Doors Anymore tugs at your emotions. It’s a cathartic experience listening to Fractures but it’s one that’s cleansing too. The guitar that fills Of Course You Are makes for a majestic listen. It seems to dominate the song but with the vocals sitting mid-mix it takes on a whole different feel. At time angular, angry and belligerent. Instrumental interlude The Longest Silence Ever Heard reminds me of an old folk ditty (the sort that villages might play around a communal camp fire), except this one gets louder before leading into Show Me Where It Hurts, which immediately hits top gear. Everything about it is meant to assault your senses and get your attention before Mont-Dore settles down and puts a comforting arm around you. As the song fades into closer What You Gave Me Is Not A Gift, I wonder if this is how We Came Out Like Tigers might have sounded like if they hadn’t discovered black metal and carried onwards on their screamo path. That’s just my silly opinion though as Mont-Dore are definitely a band of their own making and are worthy of praise and wider attention. Fractures is a cracking record. Elegantly listenable and painfully thought-provoking. Good work indeed.

Wednesday, 17 August 2016

Sometimes it is necessary to challenge yourself and to breach the limits of what you feel is acceptable. Nowhere is that more true than when discovering and listening to extreme music. I occasionally listen to noise and drone and I have the odd spurt where I actively seek out the most intense music. Japanese duo Legion of Andromeda are exactly the type of band I'm talking about. Their latest opus was released last September via Crucial Blast as a CD/digital download and it features seven doom/death/noise drenched songs. It was previously released on tape/LP via At War With False Noise and Unholy Anarchy.

Legion of Andromeda cuts a primitive figure with raw guitar and vocals, backed-up by the clinical time keeping of a drum machine on opener Transuranic Ejaculation. It’s droning, repetitive and disconcerting, which is completely the atmosphere that LOA were no doubt looking to achieve. They make fellow countrymen Mad Capsule Markets sound like a pop band. Cosmo Hammer is the best song-title period and kinda sounds like it should be a killer thrash song. Thrash though, it is not. It has a similar tempo to that of Iron Scorn’s opener but this time features more torturous, higher-pitched screams in places as well as some cool but subtle vocal effects. You’ll get a faint hint of guitar melody during Overlord Of Thunder, as M adds a layer of treble to the mix. As with the majority of the record, it becomes quite hypnotic when LOA uses the same drum pattern for over six-minutes. The longer it goes on for, the faster it seems to get but maybe that’s just your head playing tricks on you. Things do in fact seem to pick up the pace during Scourge Of Pestilence, which while being every bit as vile as it’s title suggests is actually the shortest (and most uptempo…perhaps?). It’s quite hard to get your head around the psyches of both M and R during Sociopathic Infestation ,considering they have crafted this terrifying yet minimal sound all by themselves. The fact that the country has a forest reserved for those who wish to commit suicide (bless their souls) may give you a clue though as to the society that they live in. By the time penultimate song Aim At The Starless Sky begins, you have either submitted to LOA’s tortured doom/death or you’ve given up altogether. If you’re still here then your mind will only get stronger, as once again your subjected to rendition-like noise and stark industrialism, all set to the backdrop of extreme metal. Fist of Hammurabi slowly smothers you throughout it’s seven-minutes until there is no signs of visible life left. It all comes to an abrupt end and leaves an indelible mark on the brain. Legion of Andromeda are not for the faint of heart or the weak willed. Approach at your peril.

I've decided that instead of just stating that I thought the article was wrong, I'd qualify why it's in rude health and getting better by using yesterday's Ritual Festival all-dayer as a case-in-point, while also giving the bands and organiser involved some promotion.

Yesterday's shenanigans featured 10 bands, of which 9 were from the UK. Danish band Hexis were added at short notice as part of their UK weekender and the three main bands OHHMS, Conjurer and Bast were in the midst of a UK tour themselves. I'll apologise now for the lack of photos. Shortly after starting this blog I realised that me, consuming beer and trying to take photos didn't work.

It's always a tough job opening an all-dayer or a festival, especially at 1pm on a sunny Saturday afternoon. Derby's Twisted Swan had the dubious honour of warming up those who turned up early, with their own brand of funky, experimental heaviness. It's always a good sign when the openers put as much effort into their set and the headliners do and as it was my first time catching them, I was impressed. Next up was a set from local Leeds thrash/death band Cryptic Shift. The last time I saw this four-piece was at Bad Apples (Leeds), but they seemed to have changed a bit since then. Old-school death and thrash akin to the like of Slayer and Noisem was on offer, as well as plenty of screaming leads and dual-guitar harmonies. They were another band well worth getting down early for. I've featured Sheffield- trio Kurokuma on here before, but hadn't seen them live so them being on the line-up made the day even better. Their combination of drone, doom and psych proved that it's not just all about hardcore in the Steel City and getting to chat with them later in the day was good too. They've got a new EP coming out next month, so keep an eye for that. Bury's PIST have always been great value whenever I've seen them before and while being slightly less inebriated at Ritual, they were still spot on. Their sludgey grooves and general heavy metal attitude showed exactly why they played Bloodstock last year. They played a number of tracks from their recent album "Rhythm & Booze", which went down really well with the well-oiled crowd. The Bendal Interlude closed out the first half of Ritual in mighty fashion. Having reviewed "Reign Of The Unblinking Eye" earlier in the year, they were another band I was looking forward to seeing for the first time and they didn't disappoint. Stoner/doom/sludge was very much the order of the day so far, but TBL produced a rousing set with tonnes of volume for good measure. Danish merauders Hexis upped the pace during the second half of Ritual. With the house lights off and via the blinding light of a sole strobe, their mix of hardcore and black metal made for the set of the day (in my opinion.). It was so good to see them again after what seemed like an age. Next up was Iron Witch who had recently released their new album "A Harrowed Dawn". They made sure that songs off the new record were given a decent airing and showed that their new line-up is gelling really well. I purchased a copy of the LP too (which looks and sounds amazing by the way!). Bast took to the stage shortly afterwards and the trio blew the crowd away with their brand of doom/sludge that made the darkened upstairs room of Belgrave feel even more disorientating. The crowd seemed to gain extra energy during their set and the band reciprocated by seemingly getting heavier and heavier. At this point, fatigue was starting to kick in for me but the heavy, blackened hardcore of Conjurer soon put pay to that. They gave a great performance and showed exactly why they're a part of the Holy Roar Records roster. Angular riffs, Holy Terror-inspired heaviness and claustrophobic screams took the mood and the volume up a level. Ritual's headliners were post-metal/doom band OHHMS and provided a fitting end to proceedings, with compositions that were as pensive as they were majestic. They were well worth waiting for, as they created a very different atmosphere to those before them. A mix of atmospheric metal and subtle stoner/psych bought the day to a dramatic end. Days like this can usually be an endurance test but thanks to the variation of styles and bands performing, Ritual all-dayer was a great day and a great advert for the British metal scene. Here's to next year!

Saturday, 13 August 2016

Writer's block is the bane of my life. I have loads of bands and records I want to write about, but often it's hard to put down what I'd like to say. That very thing struck as I was hitting play of the debut EP from Australian progressive death metal band Sun Of Gaia. Having done a little research I can see that Corrode is their first official release (not that hard to establish I know) and that they only formed earlier this year. Oh and they're gonna be sharing the stage with King Parrot at The New Dead 7 metal festival in Adelaide this September. It looks like a great festival and is all ages too! I'll throw a link up to it later on in this post.

Getting the chance to hear creative bands from the other side of the globe is always exciting for me and Sun Of Gaia is another name that I can proudly say I’ve featured here. EP opener Corrode is a short and precise blast that demonstrates exactly what they’re about, with rousing instrumentation and deep growls. Endless Wake swiftly follows with a whole heap of modern technical flair. Sun Of Gaia steers clear of the obvious djent sound and actually stands up alongside metalcore bands like Killswitch Engage, in the riff department especially. That’s not the only weapon in their arsenal though, as they also whip out jazz guitar and inspired bass-noodling that splits them apart from the masses. There’s an obvious modern slant to the production on Corrode, but as The Cold begins there’s also a subtle murkiness amongst the low-end that’s quite warming. The verse that follows is full-on and the metallic refrains are worth waiting for. They manage to fit a lot into just over four minutes, with dual screams and gloomy atmospherics, as well as a solo of epic proportions. Haunted Eyes is a little more mid-paced in places, not that you’d really notice. It contains some nice straightforward metal elements within it’s layers of technicality too. Towering post-metal atmosphere spreads itself over Blinding Light and the guitars rule all. There’s something symphonic about it as well, with more than a hint of black metal. It’s eerily melodic and even slightly bombastic. That orchestral side breathes light into Sun Of Gaia’s music and the song as a whole shows the real breadth of their musical progression. Talking of progression and strings, EP closer And The Clouds Cry stretches to over eight-minutes. It happens to be the band’s most caustic track with a searing intensity that creeps up on you. Intense is probably the best word to describe Corrode. It carries you through various shades of extreme metal yet it keeps you close, cradling your emotions instead of ripping them to shreds. Sun Of Gaia should certainly be bigger thanks to this performance. I’m looking forward to more music from them in the future.

You can stream Corrode and buy it in both CD and digital formats from Sun Of Gaia's bandcamp page below:-

Update: In my haste to get this review published last night, I forgot to throw up a link for The New Dead Metalfest 7 that Sun Of Gaia will be appearing at in September. If you're in Adelaide around that time, you should see them alongside King Parrot, Disentomb and a whole host of other bands - https://www.facebook.com/thenewdead/home

Thursday, 11 August 2016

I don't want to sound like I'm complaining but my life seems to be getting busier and busier of late. It's not all bad though, as last night I went to a local show in Harrogate to watch Martha and Kamikaze Girls for the first time. The gig was great, the vibe too and the venue that hosted it happens to be one of my favourite bars in Harrogate. That brings me onto the subjects of tonight's review. Both No Ditching and Baby Ghosts are punk bands and are from opposite sides of the Atlantic. No Ditching comes from Durham and funnily enough has connections to Martha. Baby Ghosts comes from Salt Lake City (US). This split 7" was released by UK label Drunken Sailor Records earlier this year.

No Ditching begins with a song called Emo and their sound is not as the title suggests. They play raw punk that’s easy on the ear. This would have gone down very well at Major Tom’s (venue for the aforementioned gig) last night. The guitars are high up in the mix and very danceable, while clean vocals draw you in. They employ greater use of dual-vocal melodies on Dog Problem, which is more off-kilter but still just as catchy and Emo. Baby Ghosts make perfect partners on their side. Return Of Bones (Part 1 & 2) is their only song but you can hear why both bands joined forces when listening to it. Baby Ghosts aren’t as urgent in delivery, though they still weave a memorable song. Their song-writing and musicianship highlights their experience too. The great thing about both bands is that they promote a different view than most punks bands now. They promote acceptance, diversity and generally getting along and being nice. The world needs more like them. This is great.

You can stream the split and buy it as a digital download or physical 7" below:-

Monday, 8 August 2016

We may be creeping up on the end of 2016 but I still have a load of music to catch up on from 2015! One such record is the latest two-track release from Kent doom/post band OHHMS. I picked this and their last release "Bloom" up on vinyl at the Ritual Fest all-dayer on Saturday just gone and it reminded me that I had it write about. "Cold" was released in June 2015 via Holy Roar Records and is only the band's second official release, since their inception a year earlier. I guess if it's good enough for Holy Roar then it must be good enough for me!

Even before I press play on this, I’ve just got to say that the packaging is great. The songs are pressed onto a slab of wax that’s a gorgeous hue of transparent blue/green. I’m also a bit of a sucker for atmospheric post-metal and need to find a band to fill the void left after Voe’s departure form this mortal realm. All the signs point to Ohhms being that band. Opener The Anchor is melodic and bleak in the same way that Cult Of Luna is (or was, I’m not too sure). However; far from being caustic they use vocal melodies beautifully. This song is mammoth yet also really endearing. The riffs are thick and best served during a live-gig but on record they fill any room. Ohhms is definitely more palatable to those who haven’t yet scratched the doom/drone/post-metal surface in the UK, but if this weekend was anything to go by also appeal to hardened fans of the genre(s). Dawn Of The Swarm is dreamier as it’s opening bars whisk you off to calmer climes, though if you weren’t expecting the riffs that swiftly follow then shame on you! In spite of the heaviness I mentioned in the last sentence, it’s also remarkably catchy. Ohhms manages to create a song with a completely different feel to that of The Anchor yet Dawn Of The Swarm sits perfectly alongside it. Two songs spanning over 30-minutes and both with obvious differences but a common denominator; they’re both achingly good.

Tuesday, 2 August 2016

Just when it seems as though black metal is the only genre that's alive and kicking in the Ukraine, along comes Ethereal Riffian. As their name suggests, they play riffs in the form of stoner, doom and anything else that's slow. The Kiev based quartet started in 2010 and have so far released two full-lengths, a single prior to 2016, where they've already release a live-album before this two-track EP. They've recently self-released an amazing 5cd set, which features limited versions of their back catalogue.

There’s something very unique about Ethereal Riffian as they begin with Drum Of The Deathless. The Eastern-inspired scales used during the intro section and the use of traditional instruments like the guest Djembe and Didgeridoo (though not traditionally Ukrainian), add extra textures to ER’s engaging sound. The more conventional sound provided by the drums, bass and guitar are complimented by clean vocals and occult chants in English. It’s all really trippy and strangely soothing. The menacing and otherworldly mood continues into Sword Of The Deathless, with the Didgeridoo being more prominent and lending to a sound that’s akin to Aboriginal folk music. It’s hypnotic at time, especially thanks to the repeated lyrics and accompanying melodies. It strikes me that Ethereal Riffian don’t really bother with rules and set song layouts. They’re very proficient musicians (as are their guests) and even though this release contains a mere-two tracks, it’s still chock full of original ideas and exciting music. Definitely a band that should explore further if you appreciate mystical and traditional stoner/doom.